Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 4,400 (2010); mobile cellular: 3,800 (2010). Broadcast media: no TV broadcast station; a cable network is available on Majuro with programming via videotape replay and satellite relays; 4 radio broadcast stations; American Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) provides satellite radio and television service to Kwajalein Atoll (2009).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2012). Internet
users: 2,200 (2009).

Geography

The Marshall Islands, east of the Carolines, are
divided into two chains: the western, or Ralik, group, including the
atolls Jaluit, Kwajalein, Wotho, Bikini, and Eniwetok; and the eastern, or
Ratak, group, including the atolls Mili, Majuro, Maloelap, Wotje, and
Likiep. The islands are of coral reef types and rise only a few feet
above sea level. The Marshall Islands comprise an area slightly larger
than Washington, DC.

Government

Constitutional government in free association
with the U.S.

History

Micronesian peoples were the first inhabitants
of the archipelago. The islands were explored by the Spanish in the 16th
century and were named for a British captain in 1788. Germany
unsuccessfully attempted to colonize the islands in 1885. Japan claimed
them in 1914, but after several battles during World War II, the U.S.
seized them from the Japanese. In 1947, the UN made the island group,
along with the Mariana and Caroline archipelagos, a U.S. trust
territory.

U.S. Nuclear Testing

U.S. nuclear testing took place between 1946 and
1958 on the islands of Bikini and Eniwetok. The people of Bikini were
removed to another island, and a total of 23 U.S. atomic and hydrogen bomb
tests were conducted. Despite cleanup attempts, the islands remain
uninhabited today because of nuclear contamination. The U.S. paid the
islands $183.7 million in damages in 1983, and in 1999, the U.S. approved
a one-time $3.8-million payment to the relocated people of Bikini
atoll.

Kwajalein atoll is the site of an American
military base and has been used for missile defense testing since the
1960s.

Signing the Compact of Free Association and United Nations Admission

The United States and the Marshall Islands
signed a Compact of Free Association in 1986, which meant the islands
became self-governing but would receive U.S. military and economic aid,
roughly $65 million a year. The Marshall Islands were admitted to the UN
on Sept. 17, 1991.

In 2000, Kessai Note became the first commoner
to become president—his predecessors had been island chiefs. He ran
on an anticorruption ticket and is attempting to make his small nation
more self-sufficient. In 2003, the U.S. and the Marshall Islands agreed on
a new Compact of Free Association, an extension of the lease to use the
Kwajalein military base in exchange for economic aid. In Jan. 2004,
Parliament reelected President Note.

World's Largest Shark Sanctuary Declared

Over 772,000 square miles of ocean was declared a shark sanctuary by the government in October 2011. The area became the largest shark sanctuary in the world. Fishing for sharks is banned.

On January 3, 2012, the Nitijela, the 33-member legislature, elected Christopher Loeak president. Loeak defeated incumbent Jurelang Zedkaia by 21 to 11 votes.